


Nathan Stark’s 10 Step Guide to Seduction

by Candyoranges



Series: Finding Common Ground [3]
Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, M/M, the scientific approach to seduction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-10 11:59:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15291051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candyoranges/pseuds/Candyoranges
Summary: Nathan had decided exactly what, or rather who, he wanted. He was going to win Jack Carter and all it would take was ten easy (or not-so-easy) steps.





	1. Intro: Always Plan Ahead

**Author's Note:**

> This follows immediately after In Vino Amicitia.

_Nathan had never had a problem with determination. His more generous colleagues and professors had called him “focused” and “driven;” jealous scientists preferred “ruthless.” He’d once overheard a particular bureaucrat claim he was “a stubborn bastard who bulldozed his way into getting whatever he damn-well wanted.” (Nathan had just strong-armed a 150% increase to his project funding.) As a graduate student at MIT he’d even been unofficially voted the most likely to not let anything stand in the way of his success. (He’d also been most likely to attempt world domination, but that wasn’t as relevant right now.)_

_The point was that once Nathan knew what he wanted he went after it with all the tenacity and focus of his rather considerable intellect. That drive had won him his Nobel Prize, it had won him Allison Blake (even if that fell apart later), and he intended to win this time too. Jack Carter was everything Nathan hadn’t known he wanted, and he would do everything in his power earn the sheriff’s affection._

******

The morning after his divorce finalized, Nathan woke up in a rather singular mood. For one thing, his head was pounding with the worst hangover headache he’d had in well over a decade. Apparently two beers and a glass of scotch were more than his body was used to at his age. He’d also been too distracted by thoughts of Jack Carter to try mitigating the effects of the alcohol before falling asleep.

He had, perhaps, acted a bit too quickly in kissing Carter spontaneously like that last night, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. It might otherwise have taken him much longer to come to those realizations – although it did not make the results any less valid. In the harsh light of day and with the jolting stimulation of coffee, his feelings were still unchanged from his drunk and muddled thoughts of the night before.

He had come back to Eureka expecting to fix his marriage with Allison, believing that she and Kevin were his only shot at having the family he’d secretly always desired. Now he could see the fallacy in his line of reasoning. He and Jack would have a far different dynamic than he had had with Allison, but that might be for the better. Despite all their past antagonism, Nathan couldn’t help but think that he and Jack would be able to avoid many of the pitfalls which had destroyed their previous marriages. But he was getting ahead of himself.

Given Jack’s fear of being a rebound, Nathan would have to wait several weeks at the very least before making any overt moves – but that didn’t mean he couldn’t begin laying the groundwork. Although last night had clearly proven the spark of attraction between them, it would take much more than that to maintain a functional relationship, especially when their jobs so frequently put them at loggerheads. It was possible that Jack wouldn’t even agree to a first date at all if Nathan didn’t smooth out some of the obstacles and ingrained habits standing between them. Luckily, he was a scientist and knew how to plan and adapt to achieve his goals.

By the time Monday morning rolled around, Nathan returned to GD as cool and collected as ever. It probably reinforced (or endorsed) the set of rumors from Friday about him not having a heart, but at least people stopped looking at him like he was about to break down or explode. Jack had already seen the truth of his feelings on Friday night, so the rumor mill didn’t matter on that score. Besides, Nathan had a plan and he intended to see it through.


	2. Step 1: Undermine the Competition

_The first step in a successful campaign was destroying the competition, in this case Allison. Unfortunately, moving too strong at this early stage could scare off Jack, or even worse induce Allison to form her own counter-campaign._

_Luckily, Allison currently seemed too ambivalent to decide to pursue either Jack or Nathan. Her actions seemed to be running hot and cold. One day she would avoid any interaction with Nathan that wasn’t absolutely necessary, and then later she’d turn around and act upset when he dismissed her too easily. Clearly she didn’t know what, or rather who, she wanted yet, and if he had still been pursuing her this would have been increasing his blood pressure exponentially._

_Fortunately, Nathan knew exactly who **he** wanted, and it was no longer Allison. Her indecisive behavior was thus to his benefit as it also extended to her interactions with Jack – flirting one moment and acting strictly professional the next. As long as he could keep Allison oblivious to his plan, he could keep her from becoming active competition._

_Nathan had no intention of watching Jack date his ex-wife. Hopefully the blond man’s fear of rebounds that was currently keeping Nathan at bay would also prevent Jack from immediately chasing after Allison. If her own vacillation further discouraged Jack, then Nathan would do nothing to hinder her actions. He would use any advantage, since he had absolutely no intention of losing._

******

When yet another alarm sounded in his office, Nathan could only sigh in exhaustion. So much for having any chance of reviewing Dr. Song’s submission proposal for improved prosthetic organ growth today. He had finished putting out a literal lab fire with Deputy Lupo and had only just returned to his office. He hadn’t even had the benefit of Jack’s presence to make up for the disruption of his schedule since the sheriff had been called out to one of GD’s offsite locations earlier that morning – unfortunately with Allison.

As Nathan took the steps back down to the lobby, he saw that the two had returned from tromping all over the organic corn fields – and were standing at least eight feet apart. He didn’t know what had happened during their excursion, but Allison was glowering at Jack while the other man clearly avoided her gaze. When Lupo, who must not have left GD yet, strode over to join them Jack casually took a half step to the side to ensure that his deputy was blocking Allison’s glare.

The newest emergency proved to be an electrical fault that was causing periodic blackouts on the third floor. They had to check which labs were affected and see if any of them were triggering a power surge that could be causing the fault – or if any of them were in danger of losing containment due to the blackouts. It would be an annoying hour or more tracking everything down, but Nathan might as well take advantage of the situation.

“It would be faster if we split up. Carter and I will start on the eastern corridor. Come on, Sheriff.” 

Carter’s eager, “Yeah, let’s go,” was a surprise as he followed Nathan without protest. It made something possessive curl inside of Nathan, as not that long ago Jack had seemed to use any excuse to be paired with Allison instead of him.

Then again, Allison’s parting comment of, “I’m sure Deputy Lupo and I will be capable of _correctly_ identifying the threat,” might have had something to do with Jack’s eagerness to part company. 

To Nathan’s amused delight, the sheriff seemed to lose some of the tension across his shoulders as soon as the elevator doors closed them off from the lobby.

“That excited about electrical fires, are you?”

Carter replied with a sardonic look, but luckily took the bait. “Allison’s pissed because the infestation turned out to be in the bio-engineered **wheat** fields, not the corn fields – which we only found out after we’d been tracking through muddy fields for over an hour. I know I’m a city boy and can’t correctly identify unripe corn versus unripe wheat, but that doesn’t exactly matter when we’re not even given the correct information in the first place.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to point out the difference between the electrical wires and the hydraulic circuitry for you.” Nathan was pretty sure the smirk on his face was only a few shades away from a smile.

Jack’s indignant squawk and deliberate shove against his shoulder as they exited the elevator did nothing to hide the relaxed grin on the blond’s face.


	3. Step 2: To Be Honest

_Besides fighting over Allison, Nathan knew that one of his largest obstacles with Carter in the past was the differences in their professional ideologies. Jack didn’t seem to understand the meaning of classified – despite his years working for the government – and personally resented anytime information was withheld from him. Unfortunately, keeping secrets was not something Nathan could change – he was the director of a classified research facility and, like it or not, Jack did not have the same clearance level._

_That being said, Nathan reluctantly admitted that sometimes he liked playing things a little too close to the chest. (Also, during the days of their rivalry, Nathan had occasionally used clearance levels deliberately to antagonize the sheriff.) Just because a project was classified, did not always mean that all tangential information was equally classified. Hopefully Jack could appreciate a compromise in at least being more open about when there was information that legally needed to be withheld._

******

“None of the projects in Section 5 could have produced that type of radiation.” Nathan explained for the third time, pinching the bridge of his nose at the belligerent look on Jack’s face. Before the sheriff could argue yet again about full disclosure and classified data, Nathan decided to throw him a bone, “ _But_ I will double check to make sure that no one is operating outside of their parameters.”

Jack was still clearly unhappy, but finally seemed willing to give ground for the moment.

“Sheriff, _if_ there is a problem I _will_ inform you of it, but meanwhile trust me that I’m not keeping secrets just to spite you, and I don’t actually want to endanger any of my people.”

~`~`~`~`~

Frowning at his phone, Nathan planned out how he wanted to handle this conversation. Hopefully it could end without Jack angry at him for _keeping secrets_ – or saying ‘I told you so.’

“Carter, I’ve found the source of the radiation and shut it down. Have the pressure fluctuations stopped?”

“Yeah, they stopped about 5 minutes ago. … So, it _was_ one of your Section 5 projects that you said couldn’t possibly be at fault.”

Nathan resisted the urge to sigh – his attraction to Jack did not negate all the times Carter managed to drive him up a wall. _Hmm, pressing Jack up against the wall…_ a thought for later.

“Dr. Phillips was conducting unsanctioned experiments on the side that were the source of the radiation leak. Her intended project would not have been able to cause this.”

Jack just snorted. “Riiiight, and when in this town have scientists ever done what they were supposed to and followed the rules?”

“All the time actually, considering the many, many people in town and the fact that labs aren’t exploding on an hourly basis.” Nathan smirked at Jack’s groan and pictured the undoubtedly horrified look on his face. “Well, if we’ve wrapped up today’s little adventure, I have work to do that was interrupted this morning.”

Of course, Jack protested and demanded more details about what the experiment had been and how Dr. Phillips was being punished for endangering the lives of thirty people. Once again Nathan weighed how much information he could impart without violating security clearance. Predictably, Jack was unimpressed with the thought that the project was still classified, and that Dr. Phillips wasn’t going to be immediately arrested. However, as Nathan further explained the punishments that would be happening – a full audit of her projects with the potential of funding cuts, reassignment, or even possible redaction – Jack slowly seemed to calm down.

“Stark … Nathan … um, thanks.” Jack still sounded reluctant, but Nathan just hummed to himself with a smile.


	4. Step 3: Her Father’s Daughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two new chapters posted, make sure you didn't miss one!

_If you asked anyone in Eureka for two facts about Sherriff Carter, the first would likely be about his commitment to his job and his uncanny knack for saving the day. The second fact would be that Jack was a very devoted, very over-protective father._

_So, Nathan knew that wanting to spend more time with Jack would also mean spending more time with Zoe. Furthermore, if she chose to disapprove of his suit, then Nathan suspected he might automatically be out of the running in Jack’s book. Winning over Zoe would therefore serve a multi-faceted purpose: he could gain her approval and maybe her eventual assistance, Jack would soften towards someone who was nice to his daughter, and Nathan could build the foundations of a relationship with her that could cause the other two factors to keep occurring even after he had successfully seduced Jack. It didn’t hurt that Zoe was also a genuinely bright young woman who had inherited enough of her father’s unique way of thinking that Nathan was honestly interested to see what she would be able to accomplish._

******

Seeing Zoe working on some sort of robotics project at Café Diem intrigued Nathan enough to make a small detour. Was she taking an Electrical Engineering class? If so, he was very impressed considering she just came out of an urban public high school (where she had apparently not been a star student). Jumping into Tesla’s rigorous curriculum – and keeping afloat – was definitely a testament to her intelligence and perseverance.

Zoe, of course, noticed his approach almost immediately and tilted her head slightly in a move that was pure Carter. “Uh, can I help you?”

“Just curious what you were constructing. May I ask why you elected to use a cylindrical configuration for the arm joint?” Nathan gestured to what appeared to be a grasping claw emerging from the top of the robot.

“Well, I’d been _trying_ for a fully articulated configuration, but it kept throwing the weight balance off when it moved too quickly, so now I’m just experimenting.”

Nathan considered the little robot carefully. “What options did you try for countering the balance issue? There a few alternative methods you could pursue if you still wanted multiple points of articulation.” As an expert in the field, he could easily see a variety of ways to improve the simple machine, but he was curious which solutions she had considered, and whether it was a failure to see solution options or a failure to execute them fully.

The ensuing twenty-minute discussion and brainstorming session proved very enlightening. Zoe had seen a few of the possible adaptations he had noticed, but hadn’t compensated for secondary issues caused by the initial corrections. On the other hand, she’d had some very innovative ideas as well, which she simply lacked the tools to implement properly. Nathan was once again rather impressed. Zoe was clearly a novice, yet she had a very intuitive grasp of the systems.

“If you are interested in trying to execute some of your ideas on a larger scale – perhaps for your end-of-term project – GD does occasionally grant students access to equipment and labs even more extensive than the facilities at Tesla. With the proper tools, you might be able to accomplish that ‘overachieving goal’ you mentioned.” 

~`~`~`~`~

A few days later, lucky timing had Nathan picking up dinner at Café Diem at the same time as the Carter family entered. He made sure to walk past their booth before he left, even if he wasn’t quite to the point of the plan where he would feel comfortable asking to join them.

After the initial nodded greetings, Nathan turned to Zoe. “So how did your robotic arm turn out?”

Zoe beamed in satisfaction. “A+! When I finally managed to solve the balance problem, it ended up increasing the rotational mobility as well.” 

“Hey, wait, you didn’t tell me about this.” Jack’s words may have been admonishing, but the pleased smile on his face as he looked between Nathan and Zoe made his pride in his daughter clear.

Zoe rolled her eyes, but elaborated on the project she had completed, with the two men both interjecting questions.

Finally, Jack looked back up at him with a fond smirk. “You may as well sit and join us, Scientist. You’re clearly understanding more of this conversation than I am.”

Unpacking his intended to-go dinner, Nathan reflected that the two smiling Carters made much better dining companions than the science journals he had waiting for him at home. Hopefully, he would have many more nights of warm companionship like this in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I don't know anything about electrical engineering or robotics, why do you ask?


	5. Step 4: Smarter Choices

_Nathan had heard of the idea of multiple intelligences – of course he had. He was somewhat chagrined to realize, however, that he’d never put as much stock into those areas in which **he himself didn’t excel**. He had always measured his own success by his multiple PhDs, his many published works, his IQ score, and his coveted Nobel Prize – and had thus used the same measurements to evaluate his colleagues and subordinates. He had taken one look at the new sheriff’s records, seen a history of low test scores and a lack of any scientific background, and had judged accordingly. With each successive brilliant insight, however, Nathan had slowly realized that Carter had an intuition and ability to connect disparate pieces of data that far outweighed his lack of academic knowledge._

_In fact, the very reason he and Jack worked so well together, (even before they’d been willing to admit it), was because Jack’s strong interpersonal and spatial intelligences balanced out Nathan’s outstanding logical and linguistic intelligences. When combined, their skills complimented each other and compensated for each other’s weaknesses, creating a stronger mutual whole._

_Unfortunately, the damage of first impressions had already been done, and Nathan needed to prove that he didn’t still consider Jack the village idiot. (For why would Jack be willing to date someone who didn’t appreciate his gifts?) He also wanted to cast a spotlight on Jack’s true measure of intelligence, to earn him the respect he deserved from every other elitist scientist in town who hadn’t yet shared in Nathan’s revelations._

******

Nathan was sipping a cup of a Vinspresso at the counter of Café Diem while overseeing the installation of a new arcade-style gaming console. It had been designed by Dr. Kirkman, who was the foremost expert on multiple intelligences at GD and the one who administered IQ tests at Tesla High. During his last budget review, while Kirkman rambled about the lack of new testing pools and finding new ways to identify and measure factors not captured on the traditional tests, Nathan managed to sneak in a side comment about the other scientist’s video game hobby. Within no time, Kirkman had excitedly proposed the game console idea which was now finally being installed.

Like a tiger lying in wait, Nathan pounced the moment Jack walked in the door curious about what was happening. “Sheriff! How are your skills at video games?”

Jack glanced between him and the new console. “Uh, I think the last arcade game I played was, like, Pacman in the ‘80s.”

“Well, this isn’t quite like that, but it’s just been installed, so now’s the time you can be sure of getting a high score.” 

With a bit more goading and teasing, Nathan managed to coerce Jack into trying all the different sub-games. Of course, he’d had to agree to try them all himself too. (He tried not to think about Vincent or anyone else in the café eyeing the two of them hovering over the console together like teenagers. Then again, they’d probably assume it was their normal, aggressively-competitive natures.)

Nathan was a bit less embarrassed about it all as soon as everyone else figured out that the new games were not just aimed at the kids. As with every new fad in Eureka, at least half the town eventually tried it out at least once, and many of the more competitive scientists started keeping careful track of who eked out the highest scores (or displaced their own). Thus, it was quickly noticed when Sheriff Carter still retained one of the top rankings in both the pattern recognition and spatial reasoning games (ie. tests) two weeks later. 

The fact that Carter was holding strong against some of the best minds of Eureka thankfully began to have ripple effects in the way people treated him and his daughter. (Although noticing the increasing _lack_ of snide comments behind the sheriff’s back made Nathan angry to realize just how frequent they had previously been, and how complicit he had been in furthering that.)

~`~`~`~`~

“Those weren’t just games, were they?” Jack queried as he unceremoniously let himself into Nathan’s office. “I overheard Dr. Kirkman talking about designing the ‘games,’ and I’m pretty sure he’s the IQ guy. So, the question is, why were you so insistent I try them?”

Nathan wasn’t sure whether to be chagrinned or admiring of the way Jack had pieced everything together. “Well, Dr. Kirkman has been complaining for years about not getting enough volunteers for his tests. He’s overjoyed with all the new data.”

Jack made a face – probably at the thought of his gaming results being used in a scientific study. “That didn’t answer the second half of my question.”

Keeping his face perfectly bland, Nathan simply stated, “It seems like your scores have impressed people, so I’m not sure why you’re complaining.”

Eyeing him speculatively, Jack gave a doubtful, “Uh huh…”, before switching to a smirk. “Well, don’t be surprised if Zoe and some of her friends approach you about expanding out to create a whole Eureka-style arcade. A bunch of the other kids want to design their _own_ games, but Zoe’s been elected spokesperson since she’s apparently the only one who’s not intimidated by you.”

“I can’t imagine where she gets that from,” Nathan commented wryly.

Jack grinned at him in reply, the earlier questioning apparently resolved or at least tabled for now.


	6. Step 5: Something to Talk About

_He’d heard it said that conversation was an art form, but it was never one he’d practiced much. Nathan could charm a group of investors or exchange ideas with fellow scientists, but those conversations had a purpose and desired outcomes. Casually chatting for the sake of enjoying someone’s company and making each other happy? That was not an area in which he had much experience. Nevertheless, he needed to continue easing Jack (and himself) into more casual and personal interactions._

_Most of Nathan’s interactions with Jack tended to revolve around crises at GD – something that was problematic since their professional relationship was still occasionally tense, despite his recent attempts to alleviate that. If they were to have any hope of a relationship, Nathan wanted to be able to talk about non-work-related matters. This had, in fact, been one of the cracks in his marriage to Allison, that dinner conversation was too often professional rather than familial. (And despite what Allison might claim, the blame for that lay at both of their doors.) Jack seemed to have learned from his own past mistakes in that area and was managing a decent work-life balance with Zoe, and Nathan wanted to fit in on both sides of that equation._

******

Nathan grit his teeth as he witnessed Jack and Allison laughing together. Nominally, he kept his focus on the status report being given to him by the head of the Biochemical department, but he continued to be distracted by the scene playing out in the corner of his eye. Dr. Wu must have picked up on his inattention, as he wrapped up his report rather more quickly than his normal loquacious grandstanding. Of course, by that time Jack and Allison had drifted off to their own tasks and Nathan had no choice but to return to work.

By the end of the day, Nathan was in a foul mood. He kept seeing Jack’s easy laugh from this morning in his mind’s eye. Jack had been awkward around Allison for weeks, why had he _now_ reawakened his previous flirtation? And why did it have to coincide with a frustrating stall in Nathan’s own carefully constructed plans? (It had proven difficult to pin the sheriff down for more than a few moments of banter for more than two weeks now.) Unable to concentrate on his paperwork any longer and unwilling to return to his large, empty house, Nathan found himself driving out to Lake Archimedes to clear his head.

He had been staring out at the water for barely ten minutes when Eureka’s perverse serendipity struck, and his solitude was interrupted by none other than the Sheriff’s jeep pulling up. Jack looked surprised to see him and hesitated in getting out of the vehicle. _That wouldn’t do._

“Relax, Sheriff. I’m not up to any trouble; I promise.” Nathan jokingly raised his hands in innocence and gave a sigh of relief when the tension left Jack’s frame and he ambled over to sit next to him on the bench.

“Yeah, the day you’re not up to _something_ is the I start looking for pods in your basement.” The blond’s grin took any suspicion out of the words, and the two sat for several moments in quiet contemplation. 

Unfortunately, the silence started to feel awkward after the first few minutes, and Nathan racked his brain for a suitable topic. _Fargo’s latest disaster?_ Maybe, but that could devolve into a work argument. _Zoe’s school progress?_ While he’d be interested in the answer, he didn’t want Zoe to be the basis of all their non-work conversations. _Why Jack had been avoiding him?_ No, definitely not.

Luckily, Jack broke the silence first. “I didn’t know you came out here sometimes, at least for non-science-related reasons. I thought you just lived in your office or your lab, well with occasional breaks for coffee, and the gym…”

Nathan snorted at Jack’s sidetracked rambling (and smirked at the quick perusal of his body that had accompanied the gym comment). 

“Sometimes I like to hide where people won’t so easily find me,” Nathan admitted rather more honestly than he’d intended. He quickly continued before Jack could decide he was intruding. “And I’ve always found water peaceful. My parents owned a sailboat for a period while I was growing up, and the hours spent on the water were probably some of the only time we really spent altogether as a family.”

Holding his breath slightly, Nathan glanced over at Jack. When he’d planned to have more conversations with the other man, this wasn’t exactly what he’d imagined. Jack was frowning and clearly debating how to respond, eventually choosing, “I’ve never been sailing, but my grandpa used to take me fishing on lakes like this.”

Nathan relaxed at the slight subject change. He wasn’t quite prepared to talk about his lonely childhood and how it might have affected his expectations and desires when it came to being part of a family. Instead, he started to tell Jack about Dr. Todd and his ultrasonic fishing hobby, enjoying Jack’s predictable grumbles about technologically improving things that didn’t need fixing.


	7. Step 6: Come a Little Bit Closer

_Jack Carter was a very tactile man. This was one of the factors that had greatly irritated Nathan during the sheriff’s interactions with Allison. (It still annoyed him now, but for different reasons.) The tactile-ness wasn’t just with Allison, or even Zoe, though. It was sharing a hug with Henry after averting a disaster. It was a friendly pat on Fargo’s shoulder when he did something right or bumping shoulders with his deputy to draw Lupo’s attention. Sometimes, it was a hand on the arm or on the knee to encourage a nervous witness or console a devastated victim._

_What it was not, however, was with Nathan. Until recently, their rivalry over Allison had ensured that Nathan was one of the few people Jack rarely touched. Or if he did, it was an awkward handshake when everyone else in the room received a relieved hug._

_This was obviously something that needed to change. Despite a natural tendency towards possessiveness, Nathan could accept the fact that Jack would always be touchy-feely with half the town. That was fine – as long as he was included. Nathan required his fair share of hugs, pats, shoulder bumps, and all of the sheriff’s other tactile mannerisms. (Ideally, he wanted a lot more intimate contact as well, but that would hopefully come later.) Moreover, Nathan wanted to initiate some of these maneuvers himself. What better way to keep Jack thinking about him than continuing to create excuses for subtle contact?_

******

The explosion in Dr. Hayward’s lab happened faster than Nathan could process, but not so quick as to prevent the sheriff and deputy from reacting during that split second. Nathan was still blinking away spots and trying to ignore the tinnitus ringing in his ears when he recognized the warm form pressing him to the floor. Apparently Jack had tackled him out of the blast radius, while Lupo had done the same for Dr. Hayward.

Having ascertained that no one seemed injured, Nathan enjoyed Jack’s warmth for a moment as the other man shook off his disorientation. If it had been anyone else (or several months ago) Nathan would have pushed the other off immediately. Instead, he serenely retained his prone position beneath the sheriff as he began barking out orders to Fargo, who thankfully had been on the other side of the lab, until Carter eventually jolted into rolling off him. (If Nathan purposely added to the ensuing flurry of limbs, well, it’s not like he copped a feel of anywhere too inappropriate.) 

As everyone filed out of the lab several minutes later, he made sure to hang back for a moment. Before Jack could follow the others out, he reached over and slapped the sheriff’s back. “Thanks, Carter.” He kept a smirk on his face to counter the baffled look Jack gave him at the unexpected praise. (The fact that their shoulders brushed as Nathan exited the room was just because Carter was blocking the doorway. _Really._ )

~`~`~`~`~

Seven hours later with the case finally resolved, he watched Jack flop down against the wall in one of the old service corridors, covered in bio-plasma and what looked like several years’ worth of dust. Nathan grimaced as he regarded his own suit covered in the same, before deciding _what the hell_ and slumping down beside the sheriff. Physically and mentally exhausted, the two men sat in silence for several minutes before Nathan leaned over slightly to bump the other man’s shoulder. “I told you Dr. Hayward wasn’t involved.”

Jack squawked indignantly but bumped back (to Nathan’s smug delight). “Yeah, _Hayward_ wasn’t involved. Her assistant just really wanted that promotion. I hate the overly-competitive scientists in this town.”

Nathan laughed. “No, you don’t. We keep your job interesting.”

“ _Interesting_ is one word for it,” Jack grumbled, making a face at his filthy uniform.

With a sigh of resignation, Nathan got to his feet and turned to offer the other man a hand, (refraining from taking a step back while doing so). Standing with only a few inches between them, he gave a slow perusal of Jack’s body covered in cerulean goo.

“You ever thought of a new career in Jell-o wrestling, Sheriff?” 

(The mental images his own comment had conjured prevented Nathan from moving out of the way fast enough when Jack responded by smearing more bio-plasma in the scientist’s hair.)


	8. Step 7: House Warming

_AIs had been Nathan’s first love. There were many avenues of discovery that drew him into science, but the idea of artificial intelligence had fascinated him since he’d been a boy. After Callister however, he had set fire to his lab and burned all his notes. Callister had been his greatest and most miraculous achievement; no other AI could ever compare, and Nathan forcefully turned his impressive mind towards other projects._

_During Nathan’s absence from Eureka however, it seemed that Fargo had gone back to some of Nathan’s older AI files – particularly his work with BRAD in the old fallout shelter. SARAH’s code was truly brilliant. (Despite appearances to the contrary, Fargo did earn his job for a reason.) She was no Callister, but she far exceeded the initial parameters Fargo had set for her as a smart house._

_Nathan hadn’t even known the Carters were living in the old bunker initially, and when he found out he’d mostly been amused at the sheriff’s undoubted gullibility and pleased that Fargo would finally be getting some data for his smart house project. Many people, even fellow scientists in town, would be uncomfortable with a computer watching their every move, but Jack and Zoe had embraced SARAH as family – and SARAH had likewise embraced them. SARAH would therefore be just as important an ally as Zoe. Jack had once referred to living with SARAH as being married without the benefits, and Nathan did not want a jealous house to sabotage his future relationship._

******

Having made inroads towards a better relationship with Zoe, Nathan turned towards the next person he needed to win to his side: SARAH. The smart house could either be his greatest ally (perhaps even more than Zoe) or she could seriously undermine his plans. He’d heard third-hand some of Jack’s stories about cold showers, unset alarms, or locked doors and Nathan had no desire to see what SARAH’s methods would be towards unwanted suitors.

He also planned to review her code in more depth and make a few upgrades. If he started spending as much time at the bunker as he hoped, then he needed to add further privacy protocols. He could learn to adapt to SARAH’s normal passive monitoring, but Nathan needed the ability to work on classified projects or receive classified phone calls if necessary without any of the information being recorded. On the more personal side, he didn’t think either he or Jack would feel comfortable engaging in any intimacies with a nosy AI playing voyeur. (Or with Fargo having access to the data logs.)

He was fully immersed in reading over all of SARAH’s code when a message popped up on the corner of his screen.

_From: SARAH > Dr. Stark, has something happened to Douglas? He is usually the one who conducts all of my maintenance and upgrades, and his performance has always been satisfactory._

_From: NStark > I’m simply looking over his work. Are there any areas you would like me to address?  
From: NStark> And my actions are in no way a criticism against Dr. Fargo, but as the foremost expert in artificial intelligence I believe I may be able to provide additional assistance and insight._

_From: SARAH > Dr. Stark, I can see that you are currently accessing and updating my privacy protocols. I do not see why this is desirable, as I will not be able to adequately provide for Sheriff Carter and Zoe Carter with my monitoring blocked._

_From: NStark > I’m simply allowing for passive monitoring without recording in case the Sheriff needs to discuss any classified material that should not make its way back to the digital archives at GD._

_From: SARAH > According to all collected data, you are not friends with Sheriff Carter and you have, in fact, been involved in several recorded arguments. I desire to know why you are now adding the current amenities.  
From: SARAH> I will not condone being used to facilitate your next argument or being used against my residents in any way. _

Nathan paused in his coding. He considered the pros and cons of trying to brush her off with something about “making amends” or “turning over a new leaf,” but ultimately decided that it would be better for him to have her as a knowing ally (and to not have her later accuse him of prevarication). Allaying her suspicions was easier said than done however, even after explaining his desire to pursue a romantic relationship with Jack.

_From: SARAH > I will reserve judgment for now, as I hope that you will prove a worthier recipient of Sheriff Carter’s affections than Dr. Blake has shown to be.  
From: SARAH> If you hurt either Sheriff Carter or Zoe Carter however, I will find very creative and damaging ways to make you regret your actions. _

Well at least SARAH was tentatively on his side, even if it included the rather the unique side effect of being threatened by a house. (He should probably triple check that BRAD’s coding had all been erased, however.)

~`~`~`~`~

“Any reason why my house told me I should invite you over to dinner as a thank you for upgrading her programming?”

Nathan glanced up from his desk to see an adorable half-confused / half-suspicious look on Jack’s face as the sheriff lounged in the doorway.

“I mean, what sort of ‘upgrades’ are we talking here?” Jack made ridiculous finger quotes as he talked, but he was still grinning despite the suspicious squint. “Should I be worried about missile silos popping up in my driveway? Or Hal 2000 level hijinks?”

“You do realize you live in an old fallout bunker, right? The original AI program installed there was one I wrote for the military for detainment and interrogation.”

Nathan laughed at the look of horror on Jack’s face. “Relax, that was one of the things I was checking on, and I made sure that none of BRAD’s coding was still accessible. Now maybe if you actually follow through with SARAH’s request, I can show you and Zoe all the other new features over dinner.”


	9. Step 8: Dress for Success

_Allison used to tease him occasionally about his meticulousness when it came to his wardrobe, (although Nathan believed she didn’t have room to talk as she was equally fastidious about her high heels and fitted suits). He might be very picky about the quality of his daily work wear, but that was only because he appreciated the style and message of a good suit; he looked intimidating, aloof, and damn good._

_Nevertheless, it was always useful to have more than one weapon in his arsenal, and Jack had made the happy mistake of lingering a little too long in his recent glances at Nathan. (And not so recent glances, really, since Nathan had apparently been ignoring the clues for a while.) When the scientist noticed that those glances also particularly seemed to linger on his chest and ass, well it was hardly a coincidence that he started taking brunch at Café Diem on the weekends wearing tight-fitting jeans and t-shirts. (Jack actually choked on his coffee the first time.)_

_During the week, Nathan still stuck with his normal suits, but carefully chose the most complimentary colors. Whimsically, he even found himself favoring a certain sky-blue tie that matched Jack’s eyes._

******

_Left. Right. Left. Right._ Nathan had forgotten how meditative running could be. He’d always been a big proponent of keeping fit – _sound body, sound mind_ and all that – but he’d generally favored the use of weight equipment in more recent years, especially with GD’s incomparable gym. (Where working out also doubled as showing off.)

Sadly, he’d never seen Jack set foot in the gym _(did he even know about it?)_ , and Nathan was sick of the stares and whispers that still seemed to follow him of late. So when he heard rumors of the sheriff’s early morning jogging routine, he thought he’d try picking up the old hobby from when he’d been in grad school. Even if he didn’t manage the timing right in order to bump into Jack, he could still appreciate the solitude.

A mile out from the bunker the sound of feet pounding the pavement behind him alerted him to Jack’s presence just as the other man called out. _Excellent, he’d managed to bump into Jack much sooner than he’d anticipated._

“Stark? I haven’t seen you out here running before.” 

“I used to run a lot back in my 20s; I thought I’d pick it back up.” Nathan paused to jog in place and let the other man catch up to him, eyeing up Jack’s body in the process. The tank-top and striped, super-short shorts looked frankly ridiculous, but the view of long muscled limbs was excellent.

Jack also seemed to be enjoying his own view, and Nathan couldn’t help but to preen for a moment. He stopped his jogging altogether in order to stretch out the muscles in his arms. Since he’d been hoping to run into Jack, he’d worn a rather tight-fitting shirt which was currently plastered to his chest with sweat. When Nathan stretched his arms high enough for his shirt to ride up a few inches, Jack’s eyes involuntarily dipped down and Nathan suppressed a pleased smirk. Jack’s gaze continued down even further, eyeing exposed thighs and calves. _This venture was officially a success._

“Shall we?” Nathan gestured down the road, resuming his jog. “And it’s Nathan when we’re not on duty, remember?”

“Well, _Nathan_ , if you’re heading this way, I bet I can beat you back to the bunker.” So saying, Jack increased his stride to pass him and speed ahead.

Nathan elongated his own stride, but never quite managed to catch up during the remaining mile of the run. At least he was able to watch the lovely display of Jack’s back, gluts, and leg muscles at work. Besides if he himself was a little stronger with his past weight-lifting and Jack was a little more quick and limber – well, that was hardly a bad combination.

Jack had started doing his own stretches outside the entrance to the bunker as Nathan finally jogged up alongside him. Both men happily enjoyed each other’s movements for a few minutes as they flexed and stretched various muscle groups, before Jack asked, “So, do you want to come in for some juice or coffee before you loop back into town?”

(Coffee turned into talking, which ran so long that Nathan never did finish the return half of his jog, instead receiving a ride back into town by Jack who teased him mercilessly about getting too old.)


	10. Step 9: Money Can Buy You Love

_Nathan knew one of his attractants in dating was his wealth and success. Oh, he didn't date the sort of shallow people who focused exclusively on that, but in his experience a successful man almost always had the edge as a prospective mate over someone steeped in failure._

_He had been raised by parents who were substantially well off – not billionaires, but definitely upper class. In his own career, he had done extremely well for himself, and his salary at GD was beyond comfortable. Now he didn't particularly flaunt his monetary assets (besides his taste in suits and cars), but he did enjoy using it to spoil those he cared about. With Allison it had been diamonds and jewelry; with Jack it would have to be different._

_For one, Jack didn't seem to be impressed by fancy things. He may like Nathan's suits when Nathan was the one wearing them, (yes, he had caught Jack ogling several times), but the blond probably wouldn't be caught dead in one himself._

_Also, there was a chance that coming on too strong during this courtship phase would make Jack paranoid or uncomfortable. Once they’d actually established a relationship he could treat Jack to an extravagant night on the town somewhere outside of Eureka, but that would have to wait._

******

His first thought when considering a gift for Jack was entirely obvious. The Seattle Mariners played a few hours away, and the tickets, while not cheap, would be easy to attain. He’d probably have to claim it as a thank you of some kind, but luckily there was a ready excuse due to the hellacious week Carter and Lupo had just spent running themselves ragged due to a successive and compounding series of GD accidents. He’d already decided to sweeten Lupo’s mood by loaning a few declassified weapon prototypes to the Sheriff’s department, but Jack would probably be more appreciative to get away from his work – particularly if it involved his favorite sport. The question was how to present the tickets so that he could subtly invite himself along.

~`~`~`~`~

Two days later, Nathan placed a small box on the Sheriff’s desk (while Lupo was conveniently out of the office). Jack looked up, confused. “Uh, what’s this?”

Nathan snorted and made an impatient gesture for Jack to open it. “You claimed that it was my fault that your watch died via Fargo’s metal solvent. And we can’t have the sheriff always arriving late, now can we?” 

He waited with slight impatience while Jack carefully opened the box. He would have liked to gift Jack with something classic like a Rolex, but reluctantly conceded that it would not be Jack’s style (nor would it fit into his own plan). The wide smile on the blond’s face and the startled laugh proved his second option was a much better choice. Apparently Nathan was, in fact, attracted to a man whose taste ran to cheesy themed watches – in this case a baseball watch face with baseball bat hands ticking around it. (Jack didn’t need to know about the extra tinkering Nathan had done to make the watch better able to withstand GD’s variety of hazardous experiments.)

As he had hoped (and planned) the conversation turned to baseball and an invitation to the bunker to watch a game together at some point. 

“I know you’re probably not a sports guy, but there’s math and statistics, and even you need to take a break sometime.” 

Nathan couldn’t help smiling back at Jack’s earnest grin. “I suppose I could be persuaded, but I’m surprised you’re not advocating for the live experience.”

“Ugh,” Jack sighed, “I haven’t been able to see a live game in ages. I used to take Zoe to Dodgers games when she was younger, but then I got so busy with work, and then things with Abby… Wow, it’s been a couple years now.”

The look of bemused longing cast over Jack’s face was so endearing, it took Nathan a moment before he continued steering the conversation as he’d planned. “Isn’t there a team up in Seattle? I know you _occasionally_ get a weekend off. In fact, you’ve earned one after this last week. If you let me know which weekend you’re not on call, it’ll be my treat.”

“What? No!” Jack protested, of course. “You don’t have to get tickets. I mean, I’d love to go to a game, but you don’t need to…”

“I insist. Consider it recompense for the hell my scientists have given you this week. I already lent Lupo some new guns in reward, but that doesn’t really count towards thanking _you_.”

Jack side-eyed him a little suspiciously – until recently Nathan had barely ever verbalized any thanks for past such actions, let alone given presents in gratitude – but eventually subsided into mischievous excitement.

“I hope you know what you’re getting into. I am going to make sure you learn _everything_ about baseball.”


	11. Step 10: It’s in His Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just posted two chapters, so make sure you didn't miss Step 9!

_In the many weeks since the infamous night of his divorce, Nathan had spent a great deal of time reflecting on the actions of that evening. While some of his musings did focus on Jack’s kindness and the tidbits they’d each revealed about their past relationships, more often his mind went in significantly dirtier directions. (As evidenced by the frequency with which he revisited those memories while in bed or during his morning shower.)_

_As vivid as his memories were of that night, and as many other scenarios as his mind had devised since, he still had so little actual data to build on. Fantasy Jack kissed in the same manner in which the real Jack threw himself into danger – with complete conviction and an utter lack of dignity, appearing as if he had no idea what he was doing, yet somehow managing to hit all the right buttons. Unfortunately, Nathan’s sample size was too small to truly confirm his theory/fantasy, and his own judgement had been too impaired when collecting his one data point._

_Clearly, more data was required. Urgently._

******

Having made progress on all fronts, Nathan decided it was time to step up his slow seduction. He had a very strong _(if slightly fuzzy)_ memory of that night after his divorce had gone through, and he’d been very (im)patiently waiting for a chance to repeat some of those events. _(Definitely not the Jack walking out on him part though.)_

Of course, Jack had to surprise him yet again, and deviate from Nathan’s careful plan. The night before Nathan planned to start dropping any subtlety whatsoever when they were alone, Jack arrived unexpectedly at the scientist’s house with a suspicious squint in his eye. Nathan barely had time to shut the door behind the other man before Jack rounded on him.

“You’ve been all _nice_ recently.” The blond made it sound like an accusation.

“I can be nice.”

Jack just gave him a look and didn’t dignify that with a direct response. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed what you’ve been doing – making nice with Zoe, those weird IQ video games, SARAH’s upgrades, the baseball game last week. What is it you want, Nathan?”

Nathan paused for a second – the last few months had been leading up to this moment and he wanted to be unambiguous in his response. “You made it clear you didn’t want to be a rebound. I wanted to be clear that I was in earnest.”

“Wait, so you’re actually serious about this? About, um…” Jack flushed slightly and stuttered to a stop. Either he had been more oblivious than Nathan had thought and was actually surprised by the revelation or he just hadn’t expected the brunet to admit it so plainly.

“Let’s just say you made a big impression on me that night,” Nathan admitted as he stepped closer to the other man.

Jack blushed even more and then buried his head in his hands. “Ugh. We were both kinda drunk. I can’t believe I… and I let you… and you… You had just gotten divorced!”

_Another step._ Nathan could feel a smile forming on his face. “Well, that certainly did leave an impression,” he purposely swept his eyes up and down Jack’s body until the other man noticed and blushed again, “but that wasn’t what I was talking about. You keep me on my toes, Jack. You argue with me constantly and then turn around and offer compassion I’m not expecting.”

Jack was smiling too now. “You _like_ that I argue with you? I always knew you had a masochistic streak.”

“You like it too. Bickering, flirting, whichever. Now, the question is – if I kiss you again will you promise not to run away this time?”

The kiss was even better this iteration, both of them sober and willing participants. Nathan couldn’t help but catalog each response he drew out from Jack, and the exact shape and contour of his lips, his waist, his shoulders – part of his mind planning all that he wanted to do with and to Jack. He mumbled a protest when Jack pulled back suddenly and glared at him. “You’re thinking too much, scientist.” Then Jack did some things with his tongue and hands that managed to short circuit enough of Nathan’s brain to stop thinking of _(or planning)_ anything at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas, we have come to the end - at least for now. I hope you all enjoyed what essentially became a themed drabble collection!


End file.
